A farmhouse in Madhya Pradesh, India is situated among winding rows of mango trees. The 1,800-square-foot space is constructed using the ancient technique of rammed earth – a building tradition that has nearly been forgotten in the region. Aptly named ‘Fragrance of Earth’, the farmhouse is as much a cultural project as it is an … Read more
Mark Young has been living a self-sufficient lifestyle on a remote off-grid island in British Columbia for the past 21 years. He has built 9 experimental buildings on his 20-acre property using local and natural materials like wood, stone and cob, including: a cabin for himself, utility buildings for his solar power systems, a sauna … Read more
This project was commissioned by a Waldorf school in Nairobi. The buildings needed to be constructed quickly, cost-effectively (achieving a cost of $250/m² or $23/sf), and with a temporary lifespan, as the plot lease was set to expire in 10 years. The concept was to create a small village for children nestled within the woods, … Read more
Engineers at MIT are using recycled plastic to 3D-print construction-grade beams, trusses, and other structural components that could eventually provide lighter, modular, and more sustainable alternatives to conventional wood-based framing. They have printed four long trusses from recycled plastic, assembled them into a conventional plywood-topped floor frame, and evaluated the structure’s load-bearing capabilities. The printed … Read more
In 2021, Mathieu Munsch walked away from the “normal” script— rent, bills, loans, a regular job— and headed for a sloping meadow in northeast France to build something radically simple: a small home made from the earth under his feet, wood from nearby, and straw bales from local farmers. He kept it to 50 m² … Read more
Ashish Shah and his wife, Nipa, always wanted to build a farmhouse in the countryside. The couple and their two daughters lived in Mumbai. Nipa owns a brand that produces and markets organic, farm-sourced food, so they sought to set up a farm within a two-hour drive from Mumbai. Eventually, they came across a two-acre … Read more